


In Midst of Immanent Doom Sounds Like a Lovely Time for a Wedding

by InnogenRenz



Series: Klaus and Finral AU [3]
Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Aldkid i love those kids sm, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And that is whats important, Anyways enjoy this it is not good but i tried!, F/F, Fluff, I REPEAT NOT A STANDALONE, I Tried, I promise there is no real plot, Kinda?, M/M, More fluff than usual, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Out of Character, Supportive Asta, Supportive Mimosa Vermillion, This Is STUPID, Vague manga spoilers, Weddings, minor coming out, no beta we die like men, not a standalone, they are so tired, to make a long story short yami ends up officating a lesbian wedding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23608831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnogenRenz/pseuds/InnogenRenz
Summary: Set during the training arc, on a surprisingly beautiful day, is a messy, unprepared Wedding party. Unfortunately, witnesses to this train wreck happen to be two very tired Magic Knights and their groups of chaotic children/unadjusted adults. (Not a standalone)
Relationships: Klaus Lunette/Finral Roulacase
Series: Klaus and Finral AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1489658
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	In Midst of Immanent Doom Sounds Like a Lovely Time for a Wedding

**Author's Note:**

> There is SO much fluff I'm so sorry I could not help it. Also I get so worried about details matching up with canon and I get so stressed about it until I remember what it is I'm writing and then, you know, it's not so bad. Anyways enjoy this messy idiot plot that came about because of quarantine. Love you all and thank you for sticking with my bullshit.
> 
> Also halfway through I realised I skipped like... every part of a wedding so I made it an opportunity, albeit a weird and janky OOC opportunity, to go into backstory for an OC so... Also I know nobody cares about them but they are so dear to my heart they all have backstories and they're stupid, do I need to say more?

The season was kind considering the early months the day was set in, a brilliant blue sky surrounding a warmly burning sun. Not too hot, and not too cold, perfectly temperate and with only small gusts of wind. A wonderful time for picnics, walks, or any other such excursions, and, for a small group of people in the Clover Kingdom, a wondrous day for a happy, magical event. Emotions soared high with elation and a cavalier sense of rambunctiousness. It truly was bound to be a most inspiring and amazing event, unfortunately this was the Clover Kingdom, and no organized event ever went according to plan. It was destined to turn into a disaster, at least, according the thoughts of one particular guest.

His hand were tugging and pulling on the fabric contraption wrapped around his neck, trying to make minute adjustments that would even have a chance of lessening the pressure weighing on him. As he glared down at the smooth, satiny tie he had wrapped around his fingers, he began muttering expletives as each jerk seemed to impose another new obstacle. As his movements began to get more exaggerated, he gave a brief thanks that the street corner he was standing on wasn't populated by citizens. The cold morning air blew in his face, catching him off guard.

He let out a sigh and dropped the two ends of the tie, giving up as he rolled his head to crack his neck. With a satisfying pop, he brought his head up, and tried not to tap his foot impatiently. He understood that he'd have to wait for Finral to make a getaway from his squad, but it was starting to become concerning. Klaus quickly pushed up his glasses before he caught a glimpse of lint on the sleeve of his dark suit. He quickly picked it off and flicked it away, shifting in his uncomfortable, but impeccably shined, dress shoes.

A wedding, he thought as his vision sweeped up and down the street for any sign of his significant others magic, was incredibly impractical. Weddings were always dreary, disheartening affairs in his experience. He always remembered the choking, gloomy atmosphere as the bride, in all her carefully maintained beauty, coldly walked down the aisle to face some bored, disinterested groom. Or maybe that was just something he'd experienced. Surprisingly, he discovered that perhaps certain elements of his childhood weren't universally shared. So maybe this would be different, at least this time, the couple did genuinely care for each other. He hoped.

Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice the glimmering pool of magic that was bow swirling down the sidewalk. He was still trying to quiet the concerns that were floating in his head, old worries that always seemed on to waver on the edge of his consciousness, little pinpricks of old doubts. He shook his head, and feeling the murkiness having dissipated, he opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of the figure stepping out of the portal.

"Finral!" He said, an involuntary smile breaking out on his face.

"Hey!" Finral called back, closing the portal behind him.

"What took you so long?" Klaus said, running up to meet him.

"Aww, did you miss me that much?" Finral cooed, stepping forward.

After throwing his arms over the other man's shoulders, and promptly kissing him, Klaus pulled away, and with a straight face said "No, absolutely not."

Finral laughed, "Well, you try getting away from everyone! Its impossible."

"I was worried they wouldn't let you go," Klaus admitted, "I hear they've been pretty focused on training."

"Yeah, it was a pain in the ass, but-" Finral extended his arms in an act of showmanship, "here I am! In a suit and everything?"

"Yes, I was... wondering about that." Klaus said, taking a beat to examine his outift, "Did you... mean for it to match the green in your hair?"

"Well, yeah! Green's my go to color after all." Finral said, smiling, "It looks good, right?"

"Of course, you pull it off wonderfully." Klaus smiled in response, keeping his own thoughts to himself.

"And where'd you get yours? It looks so... expensive." Finral decided on, tilting his head.

"Ah, well, you remember that mission I told you about? The undercover one with Mimosa and Yuno, and then Asta and Captain Yami made their appearances later on?" Klaus said, waiting for recognition to flare up in Finral's eyes.

The man in question snapped his fingers and pointed them towards the other person, "Oh! The matchmaking party! The one that you accidentally accepted because you wanted to impress your Cap-"

Klaus held his hand up, "That's irrelevant. The point being, I still have the outfit I was given, and considering its the only... formal suit I own that isn't a variation of the Golden Dawn uniform, that's what I chose."

"Ah, I see." Finral nodded, before pausing, "So it's only a few months old then?"

"Yes, why?" Klaus stated quizically.

"But... the coat looks kinda small, doesn't it?" Finral asked, staring in confusion.

"That happens when you're training, you get muscle." Klaus answered, still confused. "I don't have time to get things like this constantly retailored."

"You're really taking after Asta, aren't you?" Finral shook his head.

"It helps with magic as well," Klaus rolled his eyes, "it's not as if I do it just because of him. Although his influence certainly didn't hinder my decision."

"On the bright side, you are much smarter than he is. So you at least have that going for you." Finral said, staring with false innocence.

"Wonderful." Klaus replied, "Shall we get going, or do you want to continue making me reconsider why I'm going with you."

"Rude." Finral gasped in mock shock, hand to his chest, "I can't believe you'd ever say such a thing to me!"

"You're in a bright green suit, your dramatic acting is greatly diminished by that factor." Klaus said, crossing his arms.

"You said you liked it!" Finral whipped around, hair bouncing.

"I like you." Klaus replied, emphasizing the last word. "And therefore, that like extends to your fashion and cosmetic choices.... even though, on their own, they're questionable at best."

"What a wonderful way to say such a mean thing." Finral sighed, "You, sir, truly are the master of romance."

"Okay, enough of that. We need to leave before _someone_ makes us late for the big event." Klaus said, shaking his head.

"Fine," Finral said, "so where will I be taking us today?"

"To the garden... outside of the city... the one I told you about weeks ago..." Klaus continued, as Finral sheepishly looked away.

"Okay, that one. I knew it, just... wanted to make sure you did." Finral said, staring.

"Sure thing." Klaus said, ignoring the obvious lie, "May we leave now?"

"Of course, of course!" Finral called our, summoning a portal, and making bowing gesture.

Klaus tried to shake his head to mask the amusement on his face, a difficult task. Shaking his head, he made his way through the portal, the falling feeling in the pit of his stomach a thing of comfort instead of fear. But just as soon as he had entered the portal, he was spit out on the other side.

He squinted at his surroundings, feeling the portal dissipate behind him, and after his vision cleared enough to identify that he was standing on a hill, he let out a breath. This was the right spot after all, not that he had really doubted it. Surrounded by carefully maintained rose bushes, and clumps of various other flowers that he was embarassed to admit he didn't recognize, he could see why this particular spot was chosen. A cleared, grassy path lead from their spot to the bottom of the hill, where a group of people were congregating.

The whole area was enchanting, lush green grass seemed to stretch for miles, with the capital seeming so diminished with its position on the horizon. It was something seen only in paintings, such natural beauty was hard to come by. It was also one of the few spots not covered by an expansive forrest, almost entirely open except for a few large trees providing spots of shade. One of them was at the base of the hill, providing shade for the people there. About a dozen chairs were carefully arranged and facing a small arch decorated with flowers weaved in and around the wood.

"Wow..." Finral's voice rung out in awe.

"It is rather nice." Klaus agreed. "Unexpectedly so."

"Such low expectations." Finral said, shaking his head.

"That's not what I meant!" Klaus hissed defensively, "It's just... you know when it comes to nice, happy events, they tend to be... disasters."

"That's not- well..." Finral paused, deep in thought, "No... you might actually... be right about that. I can't think of one time something like this has gone according to plan."

"See? I mean the banquet in the capital was interrupted by an invasion, every mission you've had has never not been crashed by the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and if it's not a matter of international security, it's someone making poor decisions!" Klaus said, finally expressing his concerns.

"Like Vanessa getting you drunk." Finral nodded.

"That was _one_ time!" Klaus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It fit the theme." Finral shrugged, smile fading as he saw the stern expression on the other man's face, "But I get what you're saying, and I understand why you're worried, however..."

"Just say it, I'm being paranoid, aren't I?" Klaus said, throwing his hand up in the air.

"No, no, no, I'd never say that." Finral replied, reaching out and rubbing Klaus' shoulder, "I just know you have tendency to over think certain things, and get stressed about it. It's alright to be worried, but you shouldn't let hypotheticals make all your decisions for you. Not everything will go as predicted, and not everything will turn into a major disaster, so it's okay to relax once in a while."

"That was... well put." Klaus admitted, taking his own hand and putting it on top of Finral's, "I'll... consider it."

"Okay." Finral smiled, leaning forward and kissing his cheek, "Shall we go?"

"Of course." Klaus said, letting their hands intertwine with each other and fall between them.

With a deep breath, they began to make their way down the path, towards the commotion. The small group of familiar people were gathered around a blushing, jittery couple, decked out in elegant dresses and wide smiles. Both of the women clung to each other with nervous excitement, their grip was shaky, and their eyes lit up with the whole universe in sight. One particularly familiar person caught sight of the pair coming down from the hill, and began waving excitedly.

"Hey! What took you two so long!?" Ira called out, voice brimming with unbridled enthusiasm, and an unsteady laugh.

"What? We're on time, aren't we?" Finral yelled back, speeding up their pace.

"On time is late." Klaus muttered, with a joking smirk.

"On time is on time." Finral whispered, gently elbowing him in the side.

The two found themselves in the group of people soon enough, having almost jogged down the last stretch of the path. Everyone was smiling in their formal attire, the early morning exhaustion being held off by pure elation. Jax seemed to be the only one unaffected by the mood, raising his hand to hide a yawn, his oversized sleeve slipping down his arm.

"Oh, you two are just adorable." Margot said, reaching out to pat Ira's flushed face.

"Come on, it's nothing special." She deflected, holding onto her fiance.

"Yeah, she's adorable every day." The woman next to her replied.

"Juniper!" Ira groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"Come on, you know it's true." Juniper teased, leaning on her.

"You're not helping." Ira said, face still turned away.

"Au contraire, Mon Cheri." She smiled, "I'd say complimenting the most beautiful woman to ever exist helps quite a bit."

Jax turned away and a made a gagging face towards Mila, who was already struggling not to laugh. The girl coughed into her elbow, disguising any giggles that popped out, while glaring at the boy. He waved her off while a smile still stuck on his young face.

"Seriously, they're losing respect for me everytime you say something like that." Ira pleaded, gesturing to her juniors.

"Aww, but it's our day." Juniper said, tugging the satin sleeve over her deep umber skin.

"Well... you're right about that..." Ira murmured, her dark hair falling down in strands from its braid.

"Sure I am." Juniper smiled, bouncy curls framing her face.

Margot awwed once more, making Ira's tan skin flush a deep, rich red as she fought the urge to cover her face. The group was small and familiar, as the two only wanted friends and family there. It seemed so perfect like that, and despite the rather small gathering, they felt like it was grand affair known across the land.

"See, now that's romance." Finral leaned over to chastise in Klaus' ear.

With no words that could be spoken in good company, Klaus settled for giving a scathing side glare. Finral just chuckled.

"So, what's the plan for the happy couple?" Klaus asked, diverting his attention towards the anxious pair.

"Ah, well, we're still waiting for the priest to show..." Ira answered, blinking.

"Oh, is he running late?" Klaus said, tilting his head.

"Well, I haven't spoken to him yet." Ira said, her grip slipping, "Not since I gave him his pay."

"...What?" Klaus said, frozen.

"I mean we asked him to arrive first, but he still hasn't...." Ira paused, staring at the ground, "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Juniper said, cocking her head.

"He's not going to show." Ira said, throwing her hands up on defeat as the excited murmurs began to cease.

"What? But we payed him at least-" Juniper stopped mid sentence, "Fuck. We've been ripped off!"

"What the hell, is this a joke?!" Jax exclaimed, voice raised and face intense.

"I should've seen it!" Ira cried, "He insisted on being paid before the event, in full! I didn't even know him through a church, I saw him on an advertisement! Oh my god, I'm an absolutely moron."

"Sweetheart, no one's blaming you." Margot said, trying to comfort her, "You got a little blindsided is all, happens to the best of us."

"I know, I know." Ira groaned, resting her head on Juniper's chest. "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault."

"What? No, not at all, you didn't know, don't blame yourself..." She sighed, kissing the top of her fiance's head. "And a priest of all people..."

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Margot said, eyes wide and pale paper skin wrinkling with concern, "Surely you're going to have to reschedule."

"The area is being rented and so is everything else, we're still going to have to pay for it." Ira muttered, pushing herself off of Juniper to rub her forehead.

"Yeah, if this doesn't happen today... I'm not sure we'll be able to do a ceremony like this again." Juniper said, wincing.

"W-Well, I might have an idea." Mila piped up, her usually quiet voice ringing loud, "Have any of you read about the new bills being passed in the courts?"

The silence was defeaning as everybody refused to meet her eyes.

"Okay..." She sighed, "Well, if I remember correctly, some ranks of Magic Knight can officiate now."

"Huh?" Finral blanched, eyebrow twitching, "That's a thing? I-Is that real?"

"I've got no idea." Klaus responded, feeling regret that he hadn't paid more attention to current events.

"Really? There've been quite a few changes to laws regarding Magic Knights recently, I'd have thought you two would be aware." Mila hesitantly spoke, trying not to lift her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, it's been... busy." Finral replied, remembering the endless days of training he'd experienced.

"Same here." Klaus said, thinking it odd that no one had been alerted to such legal changes.

"Right, well, as a legal official of a certain rank, it'd be perfectly legal for a Magic Knight to do certain things, like officiate a wedding." Mila explained, finger tapping on her chin, "I think the only requirement is that they must be at the rank of Senior Magic Knight First Class-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but neither of us are anywhere close to that." Finral awkwardly chuckled, "I'm ranked at a Junior level, and Klausie here is at an Intermediate level."

Klaus' eyes widened at the horrifying nickname, but he grit his teeth and continued on, hoping to let it die, "Unforunately, he is correct, neither of us are at the rank to do such a thing."

"Surely you must know someone who can do it?" Ira turned, an uncharacteristic desperation marring her clear voice.

"W-Well," Klaus thought of all his seniors in the Golden Dawn and visibly winced, "I'm afraid anyone from my squad would refuse straightaway."

Finral sighed, "I suppose that leaves mine... let me go check, but don't get your hopes up, they're, well, uh... not exactly functional adults."

"Oh, really?" Ira said, eyes widening with glistening hope, "It would mean so much to us if you could try. Please."

Finral looked down at the ground before clenching his fists and looking up with determination set into his face "Of course I will, I'm sure somebody must be able to. Can you all please make some room?"

Everyone shifted away from him, giving him a small bit of space to activate his magic. There was no reason to be so scared, he tried to assure himself, he was a senior member of the Black Bulls and that surely had to garner some kind of respect. Not to mention he'd immensely improved in the last few months, he was no longer the person who'd hide as a fight raged on.

"Good luck." Klaus squeezed his hand encouragingly before letting go.

Finral took a deep breath and sent a silent prayer to the heavens that his squad wouldn't try and murder him for; A) Skipping out on training, B) Not being there to act as their chauffeur, and C) No particular reason, some of them were just like that. With a grateful look sent towards Klaus, he opened a portal to the Black Bulls base and stepped through, chest puffed out as if he'd never lost a war.

He soon disappeared, the shimmering pool of his magic having closed. Silence ensued as people anxiously stared at the spot the spatial mage had just occupied. A few family members were trying to comfort the pair of stressed women, with little success as the two shook their heads.

While Klaus wasn't on terrible terms with the Black Bulls, he wasn't exactly enthusiastic about having to beg them for help. Besides a few small moments, he hadn't seen any of them in the past few months (besides Finral), it was tough enough finding free time with Captain Vangeance's focus on constant training, it left little time for a personal life. Of course he understood the importance of his job, Magic Knights were incredibly essential to the defence and protection of the Clover Kingdom. But it never hurt to rest once in a while, without it, everyone would simply work themselves into oblivion.

Of course, how they even managed to find time for each other was astounding, even to them. But it happened, somehow, every week, they found someway to meet up. Sometimes at the café, sometimes at a random gallery where they'd walk around and lose themselves in a crowd of strangers, and pretend that they weren't spending every day preparing for an impending war. That always put a damper on the outings, it was hard to be sure of anything, when something like that was towering above every decision they made.

Klaus glanced around, a small bit of worry beginning to pool in his stomach, and found no sign of Finral's magic. The crowd had slowly begin talking in hushed voices, uneasy and confused, making sure their words were unheard when it came to the brides. What he assumed to be a family member or two were gently reassuring Ira and Juniper, whose worry seemed to have been shoved down in lieu of pretending everything was fine. Well, Klaus would be the first to say it, he just knew something would go wrong. Not out loud, though, he wasn't that insensitive.

Perhaps he should say something, try and talk to them, they were on good enough terms to apparently be invited to their wedding. But it still didn't seem like his place, not right at that moment. He began to rub his wrists, feeling each second tick by with an ever increasing level of concern. It was alright, he tried to assure himself, the Black Bulls were rowdy, sure, but to think that he should be frightened of them was just his paranoia.

Every thought evaporated out of existence as he felt a change in mana, ever so familiar, and a portal popped into existence. He focused on it, intently waiting for someone to walk out, so busy scrutinizing the surface that it took a moment to process the flying person coming out of it. It didn't really register until the body collided with his own, and he was on the ground, vision cloudy and skin stinging with the impact.

Staring at the sky as his head spun, he could feel someone shifting on top of him. A second later he could breathe again, although his chest felt as if someone had stomped his ribs into dust and then set flame to what was left. So, that probably wasn't a great sign. Neither was the muddied ringing pounding away in his skull, the constant twanging was almost enough to make him heave.

He tried to roll over, immediately regretting it the moment he was able to. It was a fight not to yelp out loud as he felt something shift in a way that indicated he wouldn't be able to comfortably walk for a few days. After a few of his joints popped in an unreasonably loud fashion, he was able to sit up long enough make sure that his glasses were still sitting on his nose.

"Where the hell are you?!" A voice boomed out, having come out of the portal, "Don't think you're getting off that easy!"

He could hear the crowd scrambling to get out of the way and tried his best to blink his cloudy vision into submission. Someone grabbed onto his hand, put their arm around his shoulder, and hoisted him up while exhaling a long string of profanities. Once he was standing, mostly upright, they jumped in front of him, a green blob ready to fight.

"Listen, sir-" Finral said, throwing his arm out, "you're going overboard!"

Now that he could make out general shapes and forms, he noticed that there were a good amount of people that had shown up. While the most important was the Black Bulls captain, who had thrown Finral back through the portal with enough force to apparently knock somebody down. Charming.

"I'll show you overboard!" Yami smirked, clenching a cigarette with his teeth and pulling out his sword, "Dark Cloaked-"

"Uh, Captain," A new voice chimed in with a relaxed drawl, "in case you haven't noticed, there's an audience."

"What the hell are you-" Yami started before he actually noticed the change in surroundings and began to holster his weapon, "Oh. I guess I can't do that here, accidental casualties and all. Thanks, Vanessa."

"Anytime." She winked.

Finral still stood in front of him, panting heavily, still tensed up. It was a moment before he finally slumped over, let out a sigh, and turned around, utterly relieved. He opened his eyes, staring for a second before they widened and he practically jumped on Klaus, holding him by the shoulders.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!" He scrambled, looking him over.

"What? O-Oh, yes, nothing bad." Klaus lied, trying not to wince.

"You're lying to me, don't even start that." Finral said, in a voice that refused to be challenged, "Where are you hurt?"

"Well, it's nothing that can't be healed later." Klaus protested, trying to shrug the other man off, "There are more important matters at hand."

Cupping one side of Klaus' face with his hand, Finral spoke, "But you're important."

He hated when Finral did something like that, because it always worked. He tried to take Finral's hand off of him, but he hesitated when they touched, and decided to let his own hand rest on top of Finral's, just for a moment.

"That's sweet, but your Captain is right there." Klaus muttered.

"Okay, so why are you keeping my hand there?" Finral cocked an eyebrow, smug.

Klaus narrowed his eyes, "None of your business."

Finral let out a sharp laugh, pulled his hand away, and laughed even harder at Klaus' offended face.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Klaus asked, rolling his eyes.

"No, someone broke my landing, thankfully." He said, trying to reign in his enjoyment, "Though, they should be thanking me for the honor of being my crash pad."

"Hm, yes, lucky me." Klaus said, a small smile on his face.

After a beat Finral looked over his shoulder and sighed, "I suppose I should go deal with them."

The commotion behind them was growing too loud to properly ignore, people were beginning to get frightened. The Black Bulls were always an interesting bunch, sure they were reckless, crazy, almost always causing fights and racking up insane amounts of damage. But they truly were kind people, unfortunately, first impressions were important and it was hard to come back from chucking someone like a sack of meat and then pulling out a weapon on them.

The scene was chaotic to say the least, with Yami standing around, nonchalantly scratching his head as guests tried their best to move away from him. The other Black Bulls surrounded him in a cluster, uneasy, and obviously confused. Some were chatting away, like it was any other day, with Vanessa setting the example as she waved to people in the small crowd.

"Good luck." Klaus said, shaking his head, "I do not envy you."

"Ohoho, look again." Finral said, grabbing his arm and pointing at the mass of Black Bulls.

"What are you-" Klaus protested, before his eyesight aligned with where his partner was pointing. To Mimosa and Yuno.

"Looks like I'm not the only one stuck on babysitting duty." Finral chuckled, jostling Klaus.

Klaus just dropped his head and tried not to let out an audible groan of defeat, leaning into Finral for moral support.

"Oh, there, there." Finral said, patting his head, "Its alright, I'm here."

"Is that supposed to comfort or scare me?" Klaus asked, muffled by his hideous green suit.

"Rude." Finral said, pausing to kiss the top of his head, "Scare you, obviously."

"Of course," Klaus agreed, "how foolish of me."

"Alright, come on." Finral said, gently pushing him off, "Let's to make sure they don't do anything too stupid."

"Unfortunately, 'too stupid' is their natural state." Klaus replied, adjusting his tie.

"I really want to disagree," Finral sighed, fixing his cuffs, "but you are right."

"When am I not?" Klaus smiled, giving him a side glance.

"Hmm, do you really want me to answer that?" He asked, turning his head.

"Ha ha." Klaus rolled his eyes, "Are you ready?"

"No, but I don't think that matters." Finral said, walking forward.

They both strolled toward the messy group of magic knights, who were still huddled together, unfamiliar with anything else. The only ones who seemed comfortable were Vanessa and Luck, the later of which was focused on talking to Asta, excitedly moving his arms up and down. Noelle, Yuno and Mimosa, who were standing on opposite sides of the shorter boy, seemed to be heavily invested. It took a few moments for the huddle of magic knights to notice the two men who had come up in front of them. Once they did, the lot of them quieted down, as close to quiet as one could get with this particular group.

"I'm really sorry that so many of you got dragged into this," Finral started off, talking above excited murmurs, "and I'm sorry for any misunderstandings I may have caused-"

"Misunderstandings?" Yuno's voice chimed in, "You popped out of nowhere, babbling about some emergency and how you needed to talk to your Captain."

"And if given the chance to explain myself, which I was planning to do before I was... interrupted, I would have said that it wasn't a _fighting_ kind of emergency." Finral added on, "I really only needed to ask Captain Yami for a favor."

"And I'm here now." Yami said, "So tell me whatever it is you want before I decide to continue our little... talk."

Finral gulped, "W-Well, it's just, I was wondering... if..."

"Spit it out." Yami ordered, a dark look on his face.

"If you could please officiate this wedding that would be great, sir!" Finral rushed, his words spilling out.

"Oh. Is that what this is?" Yami said, "I was wondering what the weird was outfit was about."

"I didn't know you were getting married!" Vanessa cooed, a smile on her face, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I'm not-" He tried to rebuke her statement, but it was too late, the rest of the group had latched onto her statement.

Asta was the first to start yelling, "Wait, you're getting WHAT?!"

"Seriously, not even an invite?!" Noelle chastised, "Not that I care or anything, but that's just bad manners!"

"You didn't want us there?" Luck piped up, a hurt look on his usually cheery face, "Is that it?"

"No, that's not-" Finral tried to say, before he got shouted over.

"You made Luck sad, you bastard!" Magna yelled, his hand on Luck's shoulder "I didn't even know he could do that! What the fuck, man?!"

"We got dragged away for this?" Zora muttered, hands on his hips as he stood next to Magna.

In the back, Mimosa and Yuno were visibly frozen, and turned to each other with wide eyes and open mouths. After a moment, they both whipped their heads towards Klaus with piercing glares. He closed his eyes in response, ignoring them.

"I thought we were the closest of friends..." Gordon muttered, just audible enough to be heard.

"N-N-Not getting invited to something is s-so embarrassing!" Grey stuttered, hiding behind Gauche who was affronted to be used as a human shield.

"Get off me!" Gauche said, trying to whip around to get her to leave, before glaring at Finral, "This is your fault!"

"Me?!" Exclaimed Finral, something close to outrage shifting on his face.

"Hey..." Klaus whispered as a reminder, his brows knitted together.

The other man took a deep breath, before starting again, "No, sorry to inform you all, but I am _not_ getting married."

The magic knights clamarous indignation died out, with most of them looking away sheepishly. Luck perked up, bright excitement filling his eyes once again. Magna gave him a one armed hug, much more relaxed. Mimosa let out a breath while Yuno rolled his eyes, both of them shooting mildly annoyed glances towards their smug senior.

"Awww." Vanessa groaned, visibly deflating, "That's lame."

"Moving on," Finral said, ignoring her, "when I said wedding, I meant for a friend to get married."

"Yeah, that's- that's us." Ira called out, shuffling her way next to Finral with Juniper pressed at her side.

"Oh." Yami said, puffing his cigarette, "Didn't know you had any friends."

Finral didn't know how to respond in a way that wouldn't get him killed on the spot, so after a moments contemplation, he didn't.

"Ah, Juniper!" Vanessa said, eyes and smile widening.

"Oh, hello Miss Enoteca!" Juniper said, obviously surprised to see her.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Finral looked between them, blindsided.

"Well, of course, Juniper's the best seamstress this side of the kingdom." Vanessa said, tapping her chin, "Without her expertise, I'm afraid my wardrobe wouldn't last ten minutes in battle."

"I do enjoy a good challenge." Juniper winked, laughing.

"And I'm happy to rise to the occasion. But it's so wonderful you're finally getting married!" Vanessa smiled, "And this is your fianceé?"

"Yep!" Juniper answered, proudly glancing at Ira, "This is her."

"Hello." Ira put her hand up in a greeting.

"It's wonderful to put a face to your name." Vanessa chuckled, sticking her hand out, "Your fianceé really thinks the world of you."

"Oh, I am well aware of that." Ira replied, slowly forming a smile and meeting Vanessa's hand with her own, "I'm sorry if she's talked your ear off."

"Oh, nonsense." Vanessa waved her other hand flippantly, "I didn't mind one bit."

"See?" Juniper leaned and muttered into Ira's ear, "Not a big deal."

"Your sense of professionalism is horrifying." Ira sighed before slyly adding on, "Good thing I don't work with you."

"Yeah I'd never leave you alone." Juniper laughed before turning back towards Vanessa, "I had no idea you and Finral were in the same squad. Even with the same robes and everything, now I feel kinda dumb..."

"Oh no, trust me, it's fine." Vanessa assured her, "I'm just shocked you know Finral. But it's a small world, am I right?"

"Oh no, I only know him through Ira. Him and his-" She paused to cough while giving Finral a glance, he made a slashing motion at his neck while subtly shaking his head, she gave a small nod while sniffling, "...friend. Sorry about that, allergies."

"Ah, is that so?" Vanessa said, eyebrow cocked and voice brimming with mischief, "How odd."

"A coincidence for sure, I know them through my job, I manage a café." Ira deflected, "They're both wonderful customers, good tippers. Conversations are always pleasant."

"Hmm, that's a shocker." Vanessa chuckled, "Usually Finral runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, all disjointed and twitchy."

"And I wonder why." He threw his hand up while pinching the bridge of his nose with the other, " _This_ right here is why I didn't tell any of you what I was doing, beyond the fact that it was important for me to attend."

"It is imperative to keep a good work-life balance." Klaus tacked on, finally joining the conversation.

"See, he gets it!" Finral said, pointing at him.

"Yeah, but that doesn't make sense." Yami said, raising an eyebrow, "That four-eyes standing next to you is part of that masked idiot's squad. That's work related, dipshit."

"M-masked idiot?" Klaus repeated, indignation flashing on his features.

Finral made a small downward wave with his hand, and Klaus caught his breath and gave him an exasperated look. Shifting to cross his arms, and to rub the bridge of his nose, Klaus remained silent.

"But you see, sir," Finral explained to an indifferent Yami, "we met outside of work, and since we've never officially had a mission together, it's not actually work related."

"Are you saying I'm wrong?" Yami asked, watching Finral squirm under the invisible pressure.

"N-No..." Finral conceded, letting his head droop.

"Good." Yami nodded, before turning to the brides-to-be, "Now, since this is your whole event and all, what exactly am I supposed to be doing?"

"Wait, sir, you'll do it?" Finral said, perking up, eyes shining.

"Well, if you're going to slack off, might as well make it a rest day." Yami shrugged, "If you idiots die later, don't come running to me."

"Oh, thank you!" Finral cried, practically jumping in the air.

"Yes, this is a huge help." Ira said, bowing her head, emotion flooding her voice, "Thank you so much."

"We'll never forget this." Juniper smiled, tears pooling on the deep shimmering surface of her warm eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." Yami sighed, looking away, almost embarassed, "Is there a paper I'm supposed to sign or something?"

"Um, yes, right here!" Ira said, someone handing her the necessary document, "On the line at the bottom if you would."

"Pen." He called out, holding his hand out and waiting for his squad to comply. After a second of scrambling around, the Black Bulls, with a few guests from various other groups, produced a pen and had placed it in Yami's open palm, "A little slow." He noted, scribbling away on the parchment. "Welp, here you are."

Ira took the paper he had thrust back at her, "Ah! Perfect!" She replied.

"Ooo, let me see!" Juniper exclaimed, staring at it in wonder.

"I have the perfect frame for this..." Her fianceé muttered.

"It's going right in the living room, middle of the wall." Juniper eagerly added on.

The two continued their excited fawning over the crumpled paper, hurriedly smoothing out the corners, and broadly smiling at it. A piece of paper held everything they'd ever hoped and worked towards, together. It was almost too much, and they had a hard time trying not to get overwhelmed by the sight of it, something that seemed so insignificant was their entire world in that one moment. A terrifying beauty it held, the desperation they'd shared to even be at this stage was spilling over, and here it was, some ink and parchment and legal nonsense.

The two seemed unaware that everyone else had gone into a mesmerized silence, carefully watching the women speak, clinging to each muttered word as if it was some new gospel that was spilling forth. Entranced by the simplistic earnestness of their happiness, their excitement, their destination after such a long, hard path. Once their conversation lulled, they were finally made aware of the lack of other voices, and laughed as an awkward apology.

"Sorry, sorry." Juniper waved off, "We should probably get started, shouldn't we?"

"That would be a good idea, we don't know how long this nice weather will last." Margot spoke up, a kind smile on her face.

"True, we've kept them waiting long enough." Ira sighed, linking her arm through Juniper's.

"Well, let's give the people what they want then." She confided before turning towards the hushed crowd, and yelling, "Please make your way to the seating area, we'll be starting soon!"

The mass of decked out, elegant wedding guests along with beat up, exhausted magic knights - who considered themselves lucky if they'd had time to wash their robes the day before - made their way over to the line of simple wood chairs, placed in rows before the arch. Once it was made clear that there weren't enough places for everyone, everyone who hadn't been explicitly invited beforehand, took a step back and waited for everyone else to take their seats. Although Klaus and Finral were hesitant to join the rest of the wedding party, a few of their squadmates were insistent on not sitting down until every one of the original guests had been seated. With no other options, they reluctantly took to their seats, while the rest of the magic knights worked themselves into a frenzy to claim the last chairs.

Eventually the chaos died down as all the rows were filled, carefully coordinated outfits in one part, and stained, ripped robes in another. A good chunk of people were left standing, and decided to congregate in the back. Whispers still fluttered about as the two brides took to their place under the decorated arch, holding onto each other's hands by the finger tips, smiling. Yami stood behind them, eye twitching as he spotted two of his juniors jostling each other.

"So." He began, loudly and with hint of warning as silence fell, "Some of us are here today because some moron skipped his training and didn't think I'd follow him through his portal."

Finral face palmed as people began to glance out of the sides of their eyes. Klaus patted his shoulder, having a difficult time keeping the corners of his mouth from turning upwards.

"But before that, some of you were here for very different reasons, not for a beat down, but you came for a wedding. So, uh, good for you." He coughed, tapping his sword and directing his attention to the couple, "Despite having just met you seconds ago, you seem like two, very nice, and capable people. And I guess you two should make each other happy or whatever. Um... don't part til death, or something like that. I will now give you this time to say some things before we get to the good stuff."

Despite the unusual start to the ceremony, it hadn't seemed to put a damper on either of the women, who looked elated to even be there.

"Um, I guess I'll start." Juniper said, taking in a deep breath and exhaling before visibly steeling herself, "I love you, and I love what we've built together and how hard we've worked for it. And I want that to be for a long time, and I want to keep being with you. I solemnly swear that I'll always try my best to give you everything you deserve, to give you care and comfort, and to be the best person I can be. So please, accept the one thing I can give you right now, my life."

"I'll gladly take it, if you'll take mine in exchange." Ira replied, wetness dripping from her shimmery eye, "I don't know how to put this into words without using every piece of parchment in existence, and how can I? I'm in love with you, and every bit and piece that builds you up, even the difficult, bitter ones. I promise to work hard for our future, and to work with you, and to never stop trying. That's probably where I should stop before I'm unable to."

It took a beat for Yami to start again, "Right, uh, very nice, very touching. So, does anyone have any objections?"

There were no raised voices, or visible agreement, and everyone seemed quite content.

"Good, I'd have killed anyone who had any." Yami gruffly muttered, shifting his weight to the other foot, "So, by the power vested in me by this nation, I now declare you married. Kiss or whatever."

Without a second to spare, Ira leapt onto her wife, and swept her up in a grand kiss. Cheers erupted from the small crowd, people popping out of their seats and slamming their hands together with enough vigor to create an almost thunderous sound. Even those who couldn't name the happy couple were caught up in the excitement, shouting their encouragement. It was almost a full minute before the two separated from their prolonged kiss, all smiles and joyful tears.

It was beautiful, a tiny, messy affair filled with questionable characters, sure, but... it was something special. It was important, incredibly so, to the people that knew the couple, to the people who could relate to them. Perhaps there would be more like it. But thoughts of the future were for a time when everything was said and done, when the oncoming war with Spade wasn't consuming every waking moment. For now, it was a simple celebration.

* * *

The ceremony was a thing of respect and beauty, even when things went wrong, it was still perfect in the eyes of the now married couple. The reception, however, was a different story. Through Margot, they'd rented a familiar banquet hall, stocked with cheap, but large amounts, of food. Along with enough liquor that Vanessa's eyes went wide at the sight, and a deviously happy smile spread across her face. Luckily, there was enough space for everyone to be comfortably seated this time, and with Finral's spatial magic, it was no problem to get there.

There were several long tables, all connected to form a U shape. At the head, were the most integral parts of the entire event, the brides and their small families, which looked to be only three or four people. Everyone else grabbed a chair at the sides of the table, most choosing to sit next to, or across from, people they were already familiar with. Most of the magic knights took up a good amount of the seats, with a few intermixed with the rest of the wedding guests.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Finral chuckled, eyes sweeping the walls lit with hazy lanterns, "That birthday party was a mess."

"Very unfortunate." Klaus scoffed, turning away to hide his flushed face.

"Just don't let Vanessa near you and you should be good." Finral said, pulling out two chairs.

Sitting down, Klaus sighed, "Call me selfish, but I was hoping to have one nice day without, you know, everyone else."

"Yeah, I know you were. And I can't really help bit agree." Finral nodded, pulling in his chair and adjusting it, "They're really the closest thing I have to, well, a consistenly good family. But they can be..."

"A bit much?" Klaus finished for him, eyeing Asta choking on a piece of meat while Noelle was telling him off rather expressively.

"You said it." Finral solemnly agreed, propping his head up with his arm.

"Well, they do care, unfortunately, we're all too emotionally stunted to show it without everything turning into a disaster." Klaus said, using his fork and knife to cut his meat into small pieces, "But it can be nice, sometimes."

"Well, look who's being all sweet." Finral laughed teasingly, "Mr. 'My relationship with my subordinates is purely professional and I absolutely do not care for them but actually I do I just don't say it.'"

Klaus gave him a look before continuing, "Why I even bother..."

"Oh, come on, you love it." Finral smugly replied, poking his arm.

Klaus pushed his hand away, "I refuse to dignify that with an answer. Besides, what happened to being subtle?" He finished by tilting his head towards the side of the table with the Black Bulls, who were all having some sort of fiercely competitive eating competition.

"Oh please, most of them are too dense to realize it or already know. I just wasn't sure if you wanted everyone else to know." Finral shrugged, putting a mouthful of potatoes in his mouth.

"That was rather considerate of you, I'm almost surprised." Klaus said, raising his eyebrows, "Thank you."

"Yeah, of course." Finral muttered, "I wouldn't want to put you in a situation where you're uncomfortable."

"Well, believe it or not, I'm quite alright with your squad knowing, it doesn't seem like they really care too much for rules anyhow." Klaus gave a small laugh.

"Hmmm, yeah." Finral sighed, smiling, "They're idiots but they are seriously loyal."

"Oh, very much so. You yourself are a prime example." Klaus said, gesturing to Finral.

"You know, I liked it much better when you got so flustered you couldn't function." Finral rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his food, before perking up with a devious look, "Remember when we were walking in that museum, the one with all that weird modernist art, and I said 'Wow, they're missing the best masterpiece of all, you.', and you choked on your drink and almost tripped? And it was so worrying that the curator had to come over to ask what was wrong?"

"T-That is something we agreed not to mention again." Klaus hissed, his fork scraping loudly on his plate as he jerked it unintentionally.

"Oh, seems I've still got the magic." Finral smirked, brushing his shoulder off.

"I really can't believe it, you can be so difficult sometimes." Klaus groaned, trying not to facepalm, "It'd be mean to call you an idiot, but I'm certainly getting close."

"Yeah, but I'm _your_ idiot." Finral replied, a shit eating grin on his face.

Klaus hid his face with one hand, "Oh. My. God. Seriously?" He whispered in utter exasperation.

"Well, it's true." Finral insisted, shrugging nonchalantly.

"You... are so..." Klaus tried to respond, but words evaporated as soon as they entered his mind.

"Yeah, I know, just give me your hand." Finral said, holding his own palm out, a gentler smile now on his face.

"Hmph." Klaus grumbled, turning away.

"Come on..." Finral replied, stretching out his fingers.

Klaus let out an angry breath, dropped his hand from his forehead, and without looking at the other man, linked their hands together.

"See, much better, right?" Finral lightly teased, turned towards him.

"I... suppose so." Klaus answered, slowly turning back around, "It's not awful, I'll give you that."

"That is such a high compliment. I gladly accept it." Finral smiled, clasping his hand tighter.

"You are very welcome." Klaus said, his face no longer a violent shade of bright crimson.

"Okay, let's eat and then stop everyone from accidentally killing each other." Finral said, dropping his hand to grab his fork and begin eating again.

"Sounds like a plan." Klaus agreed, stabbing into mushy vegetable.

"That reminds me," Finral said, swallowing a chunk of meat, "you haven't said much about Yuno and Mimosa lately, which is odd considering how often we try and talk."

"Oh? Really?" Klaus paused, thinking back on their last muted conversation with the communicators, "I suppose I haven't."

"I mean, Mimosa doesn't seem stay at the Golden Dawn base anymore, so I guess that would make sense." Finral added on, pushing around his potatoes, "But with everything going on... it's harder to keep track of everyone, isn't it?"

"That is true." Klaus said, his eyes drooping for a brief moment, "Not to mention, Yuno's rising so quickly through the ranks, which is incredible but... he's so incredibly busy despite being so young."

"That's right, you can't help talent." Finral shook his head, "But that can only get you so far."

"You say that like he doesn't have a good work ethic." Klaus said, giving him a side glance.

"He does, he does." Finral raised his hands in surrender, "But you know what can happen if someone depends on being special too much."

"Unfortunately, we both do." Klaus winced, an image of a sadistic smile coming to mind, "How are you doing on that front?"

"Well, if you mean my struggle to become the next head of the House of Vaude, it's going as well as you'd expect." Finral groaned, slumping, "It's difficult to get my father to acknowledge anything when I won't marry Ms. Finesse. And Langris... well, he's getting better. Slightly."

"That's good to hear at least." Klaus tried to cheer him up, nudging his shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess. I think he was pretty shocked when I said I'd do it without the engagement, the look on his face was certainly something." Finral said, a small smile coming up at the thought.

"Well, to be fair, you are defying an expectation arranged by the royal family. That is rather... odd, to say the least." Klaus tried not let his uneasiness get too close to the surface, "It's probably for the best we don't mention the reason why to him."

"I mean, at some point, he'll have to know. However, that can wait until he's a bit more... friendly." Finral chuckled without any humor, "Besides, it's not like I see him that often."

"Yes, sometimes family can be a bit of a... pain." Klaus decided on, "That is a very unfortunate truth."

"Luckily, we have everyone else, right?" Finral said, glancing across the room to where it was the loudest, where magic knights were shoving people and laughing at each other.

"Yes, we do." Klaus agreed, watching with incredible warmth as Yuno dealt with an excited Luck, who seemed to be begging for a fight.

"Oh, look at him, making friends." Finral noted, "I just hope he does it without, you know, too many injuries."

"Nonsense, I'm sure they'll be fine. We've all been training, not to mention, they're both already pretty good." Klaus replied, making sure to still keep one eye on the odd pair.

"You say that like a fight is inevitable. I was hoping they'd talk without, you know, destroying property." Finral said, pausing to put emphasis on the last bit, "We're already in hot enough water with the legal system as is."

"I mean, that is the optimal solution. Unfortunately, I don't think that'll happen." Klaus laughed, seeing as Yuno finally sighed and walked away from the overly excited warrior, "Well, nevermind that, then."

"Ah, so some of them do have brains." Finral exclaimed with an almost sarcastic voice, and lifting his wine glass, "A reason for celebration."

"Indeed." Klaus said, lifting his own, "Cheers."

Clinking their glasses together, they both took a prolonged sip of the dark red wine, before simultaneously placing the glasses back on the table. After a minute to cough and wipe their mouths with napkins in a polite manner, both Klaus and Finral seemed to be satisfied. With small smiles usually only meant for each other, one of them opened their mouth for some more conversation, but was promptly interrupted by a person or two sitting down, without warning, on the other side of the table.

"You two seem to be having fun." Vanessa chimed in, fidgeting in her newly claimed chair, "Mind if we join?"

"Sorry, she really insisted on it." Mimosa apologized, looking scandalized to be interrupting them.

"N-No, it's really no problem at all." Finral said, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"Wonderful!" Vanessa cheered, leaning across the table and taking Finral's drink, draining it in one gulp.

"Hey-" He tried to protest in vain.

"Now, back to something we were talking about earlier." Vanessa said, ignoring the indignant man trying to get her attention, "It's been bugging me for a bit now and I just have to know."

"Go ahead." Klaus said, pushing his wine glass over to Finral as an act of consolation.

"Finral, would you, or would you not," She paused, taking a deep breath, hands clasped in front of her face as she stared him down with eyes made of steel, "invite me to your hypothetical wedding."

It took a beat for him to process her words, "...what."

"I am, again, terribly sorry." Mimosa sighed, exhaustion etched into her features, "She really wouldn't let the matter drop unless she talked to you."

"It's fine, Mimosa." Klaus assured her, putting up his hand as Finral sputtered beside him.

"V-Vanessa! That's not something you can just ask people!" Finral chastised her, slamming his hand on the table and pointing at her, "It's incredibly rude!"

"Come on! It's a very simple question." She replied, one eye staring at him with uncharacteristic intensity, "Again, just hypothetically speaking."

"Even then! It's-it's just, just, bad manners!" He stuttered, waving his hand around, "It's such a personal thing!"

"Okay, but..." She said, shrugging her shoulders, "would you?"

"Agh, well, uh... sure." He finally decided on, "In a hypothetical situation, I... I would probably invite you to my wedding, y-yes."

"Ah! I'm invited!" Vanessa cheered, turning to Mimosa, "See, I knew I'd get an answer!"

"Oh, of course." The younger girl replied, tired by the situation.

"Well, that's all I really wanted to know." Vanessa said, slowly getting up, "Time to go see how much wine is left."

"It was nice seeing you again, Vanessa." Klaus said, watching her pause.

"You too, you should really come around sometime." Vanessa suggested, smiling at the idea, "We'd be happy to have you."

"That does sound tempting." Klaus admitted, eyes slightly widening at the invitation, "Perhaps some other time."

"Whenever you want, just be warned," She pushed back her chair and stood up. "it'll probably be a mess and you might not leave with everything in tact."

"Are you trying to scare him?" Finral asked, annoyed at her description of the Black Bulls base.

"No, if I really wanted to scare him, I'd talk about what Yami would probably make him do for chores." Vanessa retorted, a jovial light in her eyes, "Nobody does those and comes back sane."

"Well, Asta-" Finral stopped himself, "Actually nevermind, I don't think he's bound by mortal limitations."

"A true marvel of nature." Klaus agreed.

"That being said," Vanessa continued, a more somber look on her face, "we really wouldn't mind if you both wanted to visit the base more. It'd probably boost morale more than anything, and it never hurts to see friends."

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to go over and train sometime." Klaus said, glancing over at the man seated next to him, "And if it's good for morale..."

"Morale my behind, she just wants an excuse to make fun of me." Finral rolled his eyes, before sighing, "But it wouldn't be awful to hang around base more."

"Aww, how'd you know my motive?" Vanessa teased, winking, "Just know that you probably shouldn't try anything funny with people around that have no concept of privacy and personal space."

"Please shut up." Finral automatically replied, pinching his nose.

"What? I'm just giving you advice I had to learn the hard way, be grateful." Vanessa pouted, poking Finral in the chest.

"I know, I don't exactly want to remember that." Finral groaned, eyes screwed shut, "How you even managed to sneak someone on base still eludes me."

"A mage never reveals her secrets." Vanessa answered playfully to a distressed Finral and a shocked Klaus and Mimosa.

"W-Well," Klaus butted in, uncomfortable with the topic, "I'll make sure to discuss the possibility of increased joint training with my seniors. Thank you for the suggestion."

"Ah, wonderful!" Vanessa smiled, her hands clapping together, "We'll look forward to it."

"As will we." Mimosa said, agreeing with a calm expression.

"So exciting, I can't wait to tell everyone." Vanessa replied, eyeing Finral's new glass as he protectively hid it behind his arm.

"Yeah, yeah." Finral said, his glare set upon her, "Just... go get your own glass."

"Hmmm... fine." She shrugged, conceding the win to him, and began to walk away, "You better not flake!"

"Worry about yourself!" Finral called after her, watching as she waved him off, "Hmph, she's definitely going to forget by tomorrow, mark my words."

"I'm not so sure, it seems like something she was quite serious about." Klaus rejoined, eyes flitting over to Finral.

"You'll see." Finral sighed, "It's just how she is."

"If that's all, I'll be going too." Mimosa piped up, "I'll leave you two be."

"Actually, I have a favor to ask." Finral said, raising his hand to stop her before she left, "Mr. Happy here got hurt earlier, and is too stubborn to ask for help, meaning I have to. So, could you please heal him?"

"I told you, it's really not-" Klaus protested, harshly turning his neck to face him.

"You were limping on the way over, so it's certainly not something you can ignore." Finral cut him off.

"I'd be happy to help." Mimosa said, halting them with a clear voice, "I'm just surprised he's still being so difficult, it's rather irresponsible."

Klaus froze, "M-Mimosa..." He stuttered, absolutely affronted by her words.

"Well... she is right, you know." Finral said, giving him a knowing look.

"You're agreeing with her!?" Klaus leaned closer to him, his voice a harsh whisper.

"Yes. I am." Finral stated, giving the barest of shoulder shrugs.

"Apparently he is." Mimosa also said, placid smile barely moving as she spoke.

"That's utterly unfair..." Klaus sighed, fighting the urge to rub his temples, "Fine. If it gets you two to stop acting like that."

"Thank you." Finral said, mirth darting on across his face.

"Okay, this should only take a second." Mimosa said, pulling out her grimoire and watching it flip to a random page as it started shining a brilliant green, the color staining everything around it. A second later, flowers and vines grew around her arms, weaving across her limbs and intertwining behind her back in the shape of wings, and for a second, she could've been some sort of ancient ethereal being, kindly watching over lands with a benevolent hand.

As her magic got to work, Klaus was forced to admit that it was most definitely necessary once he felt relief sweep him up as the throbbing in his head dissipated and his leg no longer yearned to crumble beneath him. He was able to flex his limbs and breathe deeply with our much trouble, actions he felt a sudden rush of appreciation for. Mimosa's mana turned wispy as the bright light from her grimoire died out and the book floated back into her hands.

"There we are." She sighed, smiling with her eyes closed, "Much better."

"Of course, thank you, Mimosa." Klaus earnestly thanked her, tilting his head, "I really appreciate it."

"It's not a big deal," She insisted, an odd look flashing on her features, "just please be more careful, and try to treat any injuries as soon as possible."

"Right." He nodded, not quite meeting her eyes.

"I'll see you later, then." She said, pushing back her chair and standing up, "Bye."

"Goodbye." He replied, putting his hand up.

She nodded, and began walking off towards a clump of magic knights, giving a small wave as she did so. Klaus let out a breath as she turned away, his entire torso drooping for a moment, before he sat back up, his posture perfect. Finral observed with a curious glance, subtly adjusting his tie.

"You feeling okay?" Finral asked, turning towards him.

"Ah?" Klaus responded, his eyebrow raising before promptly dropping, "Oh. I'm fine."

"You sure? Not to pry," Finral said, before glancing to where Mimosa was currently making conversation, "but you seem kind of bummed."

"Well, it's just I've been thinking about what you said earlier." Klaus admitted, shifting in his seat as an uncomfortable expression was planted on his visage, "You're right, I really haven't been talking about those two lately. And I guess it just kind of sunk in how distant it's been recently."

"Hey, that's perfectly normal." Finral said, an edge of seriousness to his normally cheerful composure, "They were pretty much your first friends, right? Of course it's going to be weird when you don't talk as much."

"I know, I know." Klaus sighed, "I'm aware that they have their own lives and such. But it still feels... odd, I suppose."

"Anything I can do to help?" Finral said, placing a hand on Klaus' shoulder.

"Not currently, but thanks for trying." Klaus said, tilting his head back with a small smile.

"Anytime." Finral smiled back, shifting a little closer.

Leaning in, they met with a kiss, softly. Perhaps it was longer than usual, but that was no one's business but their own. As they shifted, Finral opened one eye, looking to the side before he caught movement. His eye widened as he abruptly broke away.

"Oh, fuck!" He muttered, scrambling out of his seat, almost falling over as he did so.

"Wait, what's wrong?" Klaus asked, partially getting out his chair in an attempt to help.

"I'm sorry, I have to go do damage control." Finral popped up, out of breath and rushing his words, "I'll get back as fast as I can, bye."

He quickly bent down to give him a quick peck on the forehead, before darting off and leaving Klaus alone. Who quietly watched as the man swathed with solid green practically sprinted through the crowd, dodging people and tables and weaving around the elongated table. Klaus watched with bemused confusion as his partner whipped his head around, before finally spotting what he'd noticed earlier. Continuing on his sudden route, he came to the end of it, and was met with a scene of stupidity and an impressive amount of mess.

"Why in the world would you having a CHICKEN FIGHT while eating?!" Finral chastised, loud enough to be heard across the room, "Are you KIDDING ME?! We are _guests_..."

Klaus couldn't hear much more after Finral was able to reign in his volume, but watched with enjoyment as he saw an entire squad drop their heads sheepishly for just a moment before rolling their eyes and walking off. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the half eaten plate of food in front of him, still lukewarm. Picking up a fork, he began to carefully devour each section of food, all organized to his liking.

Fork in his mouth, he was entirely absorbed in his set task, and failed to notice an approaching figure. It wasn't until that they sat down in the spot where Mimosa had just vacated, that his attention was caught. He paused, before slowly bringing his hand down to the table, and placing the utensil next to his dish.

"This is a surprise." He noted, tilting his head as a greeting, "Nice to see you, Ira."

"Same to you." She replied, rolling her shoulder, "Sorry to bother you, I just needed to sit for a minute."

"Not at all, it's certainly been an exciting day, to say the least." Klaus said.

"That is true." Ira chuckled, "Thank you both for helping, it truly does mean a lot."

"Nonsense, we're happy to help." He assured her, giving a wide smile, "It's our job after all."

"Even so, it was still very kind of you." She continued, rolling her neck, "Please be sure to give my thanks to Finral as well."

"Will do." He agreed, nodding his head, "So, how are you feeling then? I'm sure it must be exciting, all of this."

"I love it, of course." She said, her eyes flitting around the room as they lit up with wonder, "It's not entirely conventional, but I think it's better that way. There's also a lot more people than I expected, but I surprisingly don't dislike that."

"I do apologize for that, I know this was supposed to be a smaller event." Klaus winced, looking away, "We'll pay for any damages."

"It's fine, trust me." Ira said, trying to assuage his concerns, "Besides, it's much more lively."

"I'm not sure lively is the right word, more like... destructive." Klaus landed on.

"Then I'm sure everyone will get along just fine." She said, gesturing to the room with intermingling people.

"Really?" He asked, before he could stop himself.

"Oh, are you kidding? Absolutely." She said with knowing smile, "I don't think you realize just how... energetic some of the other guests are."

"I... suppose I really don't." Klaus admitted, carefully glancing at the small clusters scattered throughout the room.

"Well, you'll see if anything happens." She said, shaking her head, before craning it to catch a glimpse at the head of the unorthodoxly shaped table, "I should probably be getting back now, they'll be wondering what I'm doing."

"Actually..." Klaus said, raising his hand to stop her, "can I ask a question?"

"Uh... of course." She slowly replied, a bit taken a back, "Go for it."

"It's just... I hate to ask such a rude thing, but... you could've had a more traditional wedding, even with the budget in consideration, but there was no one walking either of you down the aisle, or any sort of... order. It didn't seem to have any of the events that people usually plan for. Or want." He chose, carefully watching the woman's neutral expression as it remained utterly passive, "I really understand if you don't feel the need to give me an answer, but it just doesn't make sense to me."

"Hmm. You're right, that is pretty rude." She started off with, curtly choosing her words, "But, considering I know you, I can figure out why that confuses you. The short answer is, we didn't want it. It wasn't something we deemed important and necessary to be happy together."

"Right..." He said, wincing before continuing, "And the long answer?"

"Pretty much the same but explained." She smirked, "You see, we came from the same village, Juniper and I. We didn't really know each other until our late teens, when a famine hit and nobody had anything to eat. It was horrible, and a lot of people died, including my parents, and hers."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Klaus apologized before Ira held up her hand.

"It was awful, but it's something I've accepted and you have no reason to apologize for it." She explained, "Her uncle was a good friend of my dad's, so along with Juniper, they took me in. They're the ones sitting at the front with us, the older man and woman. Living the way we did, we learned to be frugal, to only do what's necessary for health and happiness. So you can see why an extended ceremony that neither of us would have any particular attachment to, wrought with a million little traditions that we don't care for, would be unappealing. It's not something we feel must be done in order to love each other."

"I... understand." Klaus said, tilting his head down deeply, "I apologize for my insensitivity."

"I accept it." She nodded, hesitating for a brief moment as she opened her mouth to continue, "I know it must be hard for you to understand, with your upbringing and all. But what's important are the things you believe to be, if it's unnecessary and it doesn't make you happy, it's probably a sign you shouldn't be doing it. I appreciate you asking me questions, and looking to me for guidance, but it would benefit you to be a tad more tactful from now on."

"Of course. I am sincerely sorry." Klaus said, bowing his head once more, "I'll make sure to be more polite."

"Thank you." She said, briefly smiling, before standing up, "Well, the dancing is about to start. Just a warning, Jax is in charge of it."

Looking up, he recognized this was her way of moving on, and he took the opportunity with great vigor.

"He's not bad... his taste is just interesting." Klaus said, attempting to defend the boy, "He's very talented with music after all."

"I'm aware it's a passion he had an aptitude for, and he was very excited at the opportunity." Ira said, nervously glancing towards where the boy seemed to be ecstatically explaining his set up to Juniper, who was patiently listening to his every word, "However, I'm letting you know now so you don't accidentally hurt his feelings later on."

"Right, thank you." He said, watching her start to walk off, "Goodbye."

"See you." She waved, turning around to face him, before continuing on.

The shame almost radiated off of him in almost visible waves, as he focused back in on his plate, he felt the very palpable urge to slam his head down as hard as possible. But that was probably not something to act on, he told himself, attempting to remain composed. To say that he felt an incredible amount of contempt for his brain and it's incessant, belligerent curiosity, was probably an understatement. What in the world had come over him? He wondered, attempting to muster up his previous appetite, to no avail.

Mindlessly shoving potatoes around a plate, however, was a good opportunity to ruminate on what he'd just been told. Besides the fact he'd come of as a bit of an ignorant twit, there was something bugging him about the conversation. While it was true that weddings had always been a point of gloom and dread for him, the predictability and tradition of them had been appealing. There was a degree of comfort to be had in knowing the exact blueprints of one's future, of what plan or steps to follow. But should that be the case for him now, now that the future wasn't even truly guaranteed? He had so much more to consider and learn, there was still so much ingrained into him, obediently absorbed since childhood. But even if he could undo it all, would anything of him be left?

Propping his head up with his hand, he let out a sigh. Perhaps a philosopher would be a better job prospect, since his mind seemed set to wander into such bleak places. Breaking out in a small smile at his own internal joke, he decided to try and spot Finral in the interspersed crowd. Doing so was relatively simple, green was quite an eye catching color.

Staring, he noted that his partners conversation had moved from chastising a group of rowdy magic knights, to talking to a lone girl. After another moment of study, he identified her as Mila, and while another bud of curiosity bloomed, he quashed it. He could always ask later, he decided. His attention was drawn back to the exhausted man, who was obviously tired and incredibly stressed, and he still felt nothing but joy seeing him.

The past few months had been... interesting, that was the most accurate way to describe it. Dating was one thing, but dating and simultaneously preparing for a dangerous fight was it's own unique challenge. It was incredibly hard to fight off that dopey, whirlwind feeling he had acquired, but indulging it was also not the best course of action. In summation, it was confusing, and he had doubled down on his opinion on how unnecessary feelings are, but it was worth it, and it wasn't like he'd ever listened to himself anyways.

But if there was one thing he felt guilty for, one thing he would most definitely never tell Finral about, it was the difficulty he faced to become the next representative of the House of Vaude. Not being willing to marry Finesse Calmreich posed a more serious problem than expected, since it'd been arranged for years beforehand, and by the King no less. The reason Finral gave was that gaining power through marriage wasn't something a true magic knight should depend on, and while it hadn't sat well with Ledior Vaude, the man had accepted it nonetheless, begrudgingly so.

Despite that, it was difficult for Finral to gain any sort of respect since his bit of disobedience. And while Klaus, of course, knew _why_ Finral had chosen not to marry her, to him it was almost... confusing. Logically, it would be simpler for him to break things off, get engaged to the King's great niece, and take the mantle of heir. It was a disheartening thought, sure, but he was positive it would never actually happen. A small part of him, however, clung to the feverish idea of him only being a hindrance, an obstacle to Finral. He really did make an effort not to feed such unsupported delusions, but that didn't make it any less real of a concern to his paranoid mind.

But he did hold some faith in himself, and in the person he'd chosen to trust. And that was what he held onto, what he found comfort in. Still utterly absorbed in the monologue he'd created, absentmindedly pushing what was left of his food around, he had missed Finral bounding away from his short conversation, and back towards their seats. However, his attention was shortly caught by him when his hands slammed down on the table, in front of Klaus.

"So," Finral began, breathless, "have you talked to Mila yet?"

"U-Uh," Klaus stuttered, caught off guard, "n... no, I have not."

Finral let out a stressed laugh, a look of disbelief planted surely on his face, "Well, you're not gonna believe this-"

"Can I have your attention everyone?!" A voice boomed out, cutting off Finral.

"What the hell..." Finral muttered, whipping his head towards the source at the head of the table. There, standing behind a thrown together set up, was Jax.

"Now, this is a bit experimental," Jax warned, holding some sort of magic item next to his elated face, one that seemed to amplify his voice, "but I promise you'll all enjoy this! Now, let's make some noise!"

With the last utterance of his determined words, he violently swung his hand down to the array of magic items in front of him, fingers flying as he began frantically tapping them, in motions that were obviously a pattern. Another moment and sound reverberated throughout the room, loud and high pitched, and something so low it shook the floor and their chests. It was unlike anything they were used to, no soft strings presenting to uniformed couples, this was shocking, almost unrestrained, but so... invigorating. This mishmash of noise, order masquerading as chaos, pounded in a way that seemed to call everyone out.

"That's..." Klaus said, eyes widening in awe, "not... bad."

"Yeah," Finral was enraptured by it, even his urgency couldn't escape, "it's..." He shook his head, before turning back to Klaus, "Wait, no, I have to-"

"Oh my god, this is awesome." Vanessa said, dropping her voice several octaves as she jumped next to Finral and grabbing his arm, having popped out of the crowd, "You have to dance!"

"Vanessa, I'm trying to-" He yelped as she dragged him off, into the moving mass of people that had gathered on the dance floor, "No, I have to-"

Klaus had stood up by this point, but had already lost sight of him. Whatever this music was, it had grown louder and more enthusiastic in it's rhythm, and in doing so, had enticed people to dance in in a way he'd never really seen before. It was wild, arms flailing and people jumping into the air, and it looked... fun. It was as simple as that.

His hand elevated above the table, stretching forward, before he quietly pulled it back in. It was probably a bad idea to try and go after him, besides, it wouldn't be that long before they would eventually see each other. Still... it seemed like Finral was trying to tell him something important. He really couldn't just let something like that go. Usually, deciding to wait until later to try and talk about something important had... negative consequences for them.

Clenching his hand into a fist, he stood up as straight as he could manage, and pushed in his chair. Starting on his path into the crowded throng of dancing, he took a deep breath, stopping to do so, before pressing onward and into the scene before him.

However, the minute he'd done so, bodies started slamming into him, knocking him off balance. Stumbling briefly, he tried to upright himself as fast as possible. The damage had already been done, in a mere second, he'd already lost himself in the crowd of shimmying, dancing people. In the glimpses he saw of twirling clothes dashed with tastefully bold colors, none of them were the exact shade of green he was seeking. Attempting to make it through the swarms of guests, sidestepping their unusual moves, he found himself compelled to join in. Which was an odd thought, considering his history with dancing wasn't filled with fond memories, but this certainly wasn't something he could say he'd experienced before.

He shook his his head as he was jostled around, still on the search for Finral, and desperately trying to keep his glasses from slipping down. Surrounded by cheers, and laughter, and the pulsating beat of the song, he was quick to lose his bearing. Swiveling around, it was difficult to tell which way he had come from, all he could tell was that he was now being pulled around at random. Confused, he had no idea what to do next, or how to escape. Until a hand grabbed his arm, and pulled him out of the crowd.

"What the-" Klaus sputtered, body stiff as he was yanked out.

His arm was dropped, and he had a moment to recuperate, closing his eyes and taking a breath. When he ooened bus eyes back up, he realized who had rescued him so suddenly.

"Yuno?" He said, staring as if he hadn't seen him in years..

"What? Don't look so shocked." Yuno retorted, rolling his eyes, "It was obvious you had no idea what you were doing."

"I- that was, I just-" Klaus protested, putting his finger in front of him as if he was attempting to lecture him, before sighing, "I didn't, thank you."

"No problem." Yuno said, a smug sheen in his golden eyes, "What were you doing anyways? I wouldn't think this is your kind of scene."

"I admit, it isn't." Klaus said, trying to scan the group from the outside, "I was trying to talk to someone but they got dragged off, I was trying to find them."

"Oh." Yuno replied, a bit of surprise on his face, "And I assume this someone is-"

"Finral." Klaus admitted, hands on his hips, "Don't roll your eyes at me."

"I wasn't." Yuno shot back, very deliberately keeping his eyes focused straight ahead, "Anyways, do you want my help or not?"

"Oh?" Slipped out of Klaus' mouth before he knew it, "I thought you didn't like him?"

"I've never said that." Yuno said, defensive, "Not... recently." He conceded.

"Hmm. Somehow, my point still stands." Klaus said, crossing his arms.

"I couldn't care less." Yuno narrowed his eyes.

"Sure you do." Klaus replied, a victorious look planted squarely on his features, "But I do remember a certain orange haired squad member of ours telling me about when you two followed me one day, and then eventually getting into an argument with Asta about-"

"Mimosa has no idea what she's talking about, and I refute anything she's said about that day." Yuno interrupted, agitated, "Do you want help finding him or what?"

"Of course, thank you." Klaus backed down, satisfied with the knowledge of having won this round.

"Just give me a second, his mana shouldn't be that hard to find." Yuno muttered, face practically radiating heat, focusing intently for a moment, before pointing at the opposite corner of the room, "He's over there with the rest of his squad."

"Are you sure?" Klaus said, turning towards his junior.

"Well I'm not wrong." Yuno shrugged, starting to walk off, "Say hi for me, I guess."

"Alright." Klaus agreed, waving him off, "See you later."

Dropping his hand and letting it fall back to his side, Klaus wearily gazed at his next destination. He really hoped whatever Finral wanted to tell him was important. At least this time he could avoid the dancefloor at the center of the room, and just walk around it. Taking a deep breath, he trudged onward, speed walking around the perimeter of the room.

He was already feeling the weariness settle heavy on his shoulders, he just wanted to be somewhere nice and quiet, to sit down and relax. But, as always, it was never that simple. Eyes flicking around the room, he noticed that the fast paced music of earlier had died down, and that something much slower had taken its place. This time, it had the familiar melodic whine of strings, despite it being produced by whatever Jax was doing up front.

Finally turning the last corner, Klaus spotted the group of Black Bulls, clumped together. It wasn't hard to miss them, with their raucous noise and semi-violent antics. And there Finral was, at the center, Vanessa's arm thrown over his shoulder as he tried to escape her drunken clutches. He was obviously distressed as she staggered about, laughing and jostling the other Black Bulls. Until in his desperation to get away, he locked eyes with Klaus, and his face lit up.

Klaus, seeing that Finral would most definitely not be able to break away from Vanessa, decided to join the group. Strolling up, he was unnoticed as everyone around him seem focused on their own shenanigans. Luck was currently trying to aggravate Magna into attacking him, while the man in question tried to hold his ground, obviously teetering on the edge of giving in. Noelle and Asta were having some sort of conversation with Gordon, who was busy explaining some sort of curse magic as Gauche butted in, Grey clinging to his side. Charmy was missing, but Klaus remembered that Finral had mentioned that at least one member of the Black Bulls had to be at their base at all times, something about the hideout needing a person to function.

Finral, now seeing his partner in the near vicinity, pointed to the table and muttered something about an abandoned wine bottle. Vanessa eagerly left him and went hunting for the made up treasure, sure to keep her busy for a minute or two. Finral glanced her way before scuttling over to Klaus, grabbing him by the arm, and pulling him out of earshot of the rest of the Black Bulls.

"Oh, thank god." Finral started off, still holding onto the other man's arm, "I thought I was doomed."

"I thought you were too." Klaus said, trying not to the humor color his voice too much, "Luckily, I rescued you just in time."

"Oh, my great savior." Finral rolled his eyes, still smiling while doing so, "But seriously, I do have some important news."

"Okay," Klaus said, intently listening, "go on."

"So, you know how the courts have been passing a lot of bills lately? Including the ones the Wizard King himself pushed through, which is part of the reason Juniper and Ira were able to get married?" Finral continued, letting go of Klaus' arm and grabbing his hand instead, "Apparently, a section of one of them declared a certain... troublesome rule, obsolete."

Klaus waited for a beat before frowning, "That's not funny."

"Would I joke about this?" Finral replied, raising an eyebrow, "I'm serious." He gripped the other mans hand tightly.

"Y-You're not kidding." Klaus said, blinking several times, "Right?"

"I'm really not." Finral laughed, "It's great, isn't it?"

"It's... unbelievable." Klaus began shaking his head, a tremor in his hands, "How in the world were we not aware of this?"

"It was just a small clause, barely noticeable but still there." Finral explained, a smile on his face as the air around him became thin, "And if I had to guess, I'd say the Captains weren't told, it probably wasn't considered important." 

Klaus choked down a laugh that had bubbled up out of nowhere, "P-Probably. So we..."

"Yeah, even if anybody cared enough to try and stop us, they definitely couldn't now." Finral finished, so dizzy he felt like dropping to the floor.

"That's..." Klaus was speechless.

"I know, it's... freeing." Finral decided on, still clutching their hands together, "Isn't it-"

Grabbing the lapels of Finral's garish suit, he pulled him in and cut him off with a deep kiss, so rushed that his glasses pressed uncomfortably against the other man's skin. Surprised, Finral stood there for a second before eagerly reciprocating, grabbing his waist to pull him closer. Floating above earth and air, that was what it felt like, spinning so fast that not even gravity mattered. Pulling away as his heart pounded, Klaus let their foreheads gently touch, taking a shaky inhale as Finral let out a breathless kind of laughter.

"Uh, not to interrupt-" A voice cut through their little bubble, "but... what's going on?"

Practically jumping apart, the two began rapidly smoothing out their clothes and fixing anything that had gone askew. Finral subtly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, glancing up to see that Magna was the one who'd opened his mouth, but that almost the entire squad was there. Eyes widening at the sight, he looked to Klaus, silently begging for help.

"So do you want me to-" Klaus whispered, pointing between them.

"No, I can do it, but are you sure-" Finral gave a hushed reply.

"Yes, I'm fine with them-" Klaus explained, exasperation on his features.

"Okay, okay, I get it." Finral said, before sighing, and turning to address the group gathered before them, clapping his hands together, he began in a clear voice, "So, I stand before you all, once again, with another announcement. This is probably not a surprise to some of you, and others probably don't care, but..." He took a deep breath, "So I'm dating Klaus, who's right here," As he gestured to him, Klaus gave a small, awkward wave, "and that's been a thing for a few months. Uh... and that's it."

"Oh, were we not supposed to know about that?" Vanessa slurred, "Cuz I did. It wasn't hard to put two and two together."

"Of course I knew, I'm royalty." Noelle piped up, flipping her hair before adding on, "It's just not polite to make a big deal of such things."

"Yeah! Good for you!" Asta practically cheered, pumping his fist up, "We're behind you one hundred percent!"

"Does this mean we can fight more now?" Luck called out, drawing out his words with an annoyed lilt, "I bet you two would be fun opponents."

"Wait, Luck, you knew?!" Magna shrieked, whipping his head towards the shaggy blond.

"Of course I did!" Luck chirped, "Only a moron wouldn't know, which means you I guess."

"You bastard-" Magna growled, raising his hand to prepare an attack, before briefly regaining reason, "Piss off."

"Awww. So boring." Luck pouted, crossing his arms. 

"Were you saying something?" Gauche said, absentmindedly scratching his head, "I mean, it couldn't have been important."

"'Not important'?!" Finral parroted, indignant at his response, "I am your superior-"

"What was that again?" Gauche interrupted, his mirror floating besides him, a deadly aura surrounding it.

"...whatever." Finral sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "At this point I don't care."

"I- I'm very h-happy for the two-two of you!" Gray congratulated, her stuttering voice uncharacteristically loud.

"My dear friend, thank you for telling me." Gordon muttered, wiping a tear from his darkly circled eye, "Ill treasure this day."

"R-Right. Thank you." Finral said, shoving his concern down, "So if you all don't mind, we'll be on our way-"

"You'll be in your way to what?" Yami's voice boomed from behind him, "Or have you forgotten just how much trouble you're in?"

"S-Sir-" Finral whipped around, wincing.

"Oh, Captain, you're just in time!" Vanessa waved her greetings, "Finral was just introducing us to his boyfriend."

"Oh?" Yami replied, raising an eyebrow, "Was he now?"

"U-Uh, yes, I was." Finral squirmed, gazing anywhere except to the front of him.

"Okay, and...?" Yami gestured for him to continue.

"Oh. Well, um, this is him." Finral awkwardly pointed to Klaus, who nodded at his acknowledgement.

"Ah." Yami puffed on his cigarette, "I think I've seen him before, you're from that Golden Goober's squad, right?"

Fighting back a more vicious response, Klaus replied, "Well, the Golden Dawn, but yes, I am."

"Hmmm. A little ritzy for us, aren't you?" Yami asked, shifting his weight.

"I don't quite get what you're saying, sir." Klaus said, keeping his voice level.

"Just saying, we have a certain reputation that nobles seem to dislike." Yami leaned in, a dark, threatening aura eminating from him, "So, it's just a little odd. Right?"

Taking a breath, Klaus steeled himself, "Well, I'd argue that the Black Bulls are an accomplished squad in their own right. They just do things in a more... unorthodox manner, much more blunt and to the point. It's refreshing."

Breaking out into a smile, Yami took a step back, "Okay, I like this one. You can keep him, Finral."

"Ah, um, th-thank you, sir?" Finral said, obvious puzzlement on his face.

"But if you ever, and I mean ever-" Yami turned to him with a severe expression, "skip out on training again, I'll kill you."

"Right, I won't do it again!" Finral yelped, jumping back a few inches.

"Good." Yami grunted, turning to walk off, "Go do whatever you want for a bit. Don't kill each other, you know the deal."

"Can do, Captain Yami!" Asta called after him, yelling without warning.

Noelle flinched beside him, whipping her head to give him a stern glare. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as she huffed and turned away, a reaction everyone could predict at this point. Vanessa watched with great interest, sending a small wink to Noelle as her face grew flushed.

"Okay, everyone, behave." Finral waved, grabbing Klaus' arm, trying to leave as fast as possible.

"Have fun, you crazy kids!" Vanessa said, exaggerating her wave.

"You're like four years older than me!" Finral rejoined, walking away.

"That's old enough!" She replied, tilting her head back as she drained her glass.

Finral shook his head as he continued moving away from the group, so utterly exhausted by the days mental toll that he was unsure of how he was still moving. But at least he'd managed to accomplish something, even if it was something as simple as telling his squad about a relationship. And he really knew he had nothing to fear from them, it was hard to expect harsh judgement from squad composed of screw ups, it was a bit like throwing rocks in a glass castle. But it was still terrifying, nerves were still doing their damage even well after the fact, and he was still trying to breathe at a steady pace again. Still, to think about the fact that nothing was really stopping the two of them now, granted, there were still problems in the form of Finral's family, but how could that matter in the face of such endless and open opportunities.

A weight had been lifted, and for that, he could not be more grateful. Still, the fact he'd even had to deal with such things as that stupid rule in the first place, was pretty frustrating. But that was in the past, for now, he would take this small blessing, and try not to think about the possible impending doom awaiting everyone. That was mildly depressing, so it was better to just... not acknowledge it. Ever. That made things go away, right? Not that the strategy had worked in the past, but it had to at some point.

After glancing around, and seeing that they were suitably away from everyone else, Finral dropped Klaus' sleeve, and turned towards him. Still flushed, the man gladly accepted the return of his appendage, going to immediately adjust a cufflink. Finral took that moment to study the area, an isolated spot in the room away from the gigantic table, and the crowded dance space.

"So," Finral started off, trying hard to keep the excitement out of his voice, "how are you feeling?"

"Oh?" Klaus replied, stopping to think over the question, "I'm doing fine. A little nervous, of course, but that's to be expected."

"'A little nervous'?" Finral repeated with disbelief, "No, come on, that's absolutely not what's on your mind."

"What do you mean?" Klaus said, a little miffed at his comment, "It's the truth."

"I love you, but-" Finral paused, shaking his head, "that is total bullshit."

"It is not!" Klaus protested, almost offended, "I can't believe you."

"What? I'm right." Finral sighed, "And what a heavy burden it is."

Klaus narrowed his eyes, "Now you're just being rude."

"Ah! You wound me!" Finral dramatically placed the back of his hand on his forehead, before laughing it off as the other party rolled his eyes in bemusement, "But seriously, how are you doing?"

Klaus paused, mulling it over, before admitting, "Okay, fine. I was terrified."

"To be completely honest, so was I." Finral agreed, "Of course, I wouldn't doubt them all being supportive, or at the very least apathetic, still... it's scary, even when it's friends."

"But we're lucky, aren't we? That we have them." Klaus said, staring back at the way they'd just came, "And just to have such accepting people as friends."

Finral winced, "Well, if they weren't, I doubt you could call them friends in the first place."

Klaus considered it, "You do make a point."

"Ugh. They're gonna be such pains about it, though." Finral groaned, "No respect for boundaries, any of them."

"How terrible indeed." Klaus placated, smiling softly, "I wonder if they'll still agree to joint training."

"Don't even mention that, I don't want to think about work for the next hour." He practically whimpered, "But yeah, they probably will."

"Okay, if you don't want to talk about work, what do you want to do?" Klaus said, tilting his head.

"Anything." Finral said, desperation in his voice, "I don't really care at this point."

"Hmm, well then," Klaus said, looking at the dance floor, which was filled with slow-dancers stepping around to the soft sounds of artificial instruments, "how about a dance?"

Finral stared at him, "Are you kidding me? Absolutely."

"Just to make it official, I have to do it prooerly." He said, offering his hand, and made a small bowing gesture, "Will you join me for a dance this evening?"

"Why I'd be delighted to." Finral said, stifling laughter as he took the offered palm, "To the dance floor, then?"

"After you." Klaus said, gesturing outwards.

"Alright, alright, I'm going." Finral sighed, moving while pulling Klaus along, who had a hidden smile plastered on his face, "I hope you're prepared, my moves are killer."

"Oh, I'm sure they are." Klaus said, cocking his eyebrow.

"You'll see." Finral warned, looking around for suitable place to enter, "I'll make you eat your words."

"I guess I'll find out." Klaus shrugged, as Finral finally located a place to dance, dragging him along.

"Damn right." Finral nodded vehemently, spinning around to face him, "You ready to get proved wrong?"

"Absolutely." Klaus said, as they got situated, taking their shared clasp to the side of them, as they both held back laughter.

* * *

Yuno had stuck to the outskirts of the party almost the entire time, big events didn't exactly excite him. Not these ones, anyway. Despite being so young, he'd been offered ample wine, all of which he'd turned down in lieu of sipping cranberry juice he'd put in a glass. He just didn't want his senses impaired, he'd had a bad experience with that during the first attack on the capital, and doing such a thing willingly seemed horrifying to him.

The beverage still left a sour taste in his mouth as he was reminded of just how bitter cranberries were, nose wrinkling, he set the glass down, still keeping a watchful eye over it. He hadn't really spoken to anybody, save for one very one-sided conversation about battle tactics with Luck, and when he'd briefly talked to Klaus earlier. That was perfectly fine, of course, it hadn't bothered him in the slightest.

"Hey, Yuno!" A familiar voice boomed from behind him, such a unique volume could really only belong to one person, Asta, "What's up?"

"Oh, Asta." Yuno noted as Noelle and Mimosa trailed behind the shorter boy, having a hushed conversation, "You haven't screamed as much as usual, I'd almost forgotten you were here."

"You jerk." Asta shook his head, still smiling as he did, "Only one of us is standing here alone."

Yuno narrowed his eyes, "That's by choice."

"Whatever you say, I'd just be bored if it were me." Asta said, standing next to him.

"You just looked like you needed company." Mimosa added on, smiling brightly.

"Absolutely not-" Yuno protested, rolling his eyes.

"If royalty decides to talk to someone, they should be honored to do so." Noelle interrupted, a sly look on her face as Asta stared incredulously, "Just saying."

"You're all so annoying." Yuno muttered, picking up his glass and taking a sip to hide a smile that had come out of nowhere.

"You're one to talk." Asta retorted, crossing his arms.

"Now, Asta, that's just rude." Mimosa lightly chastised, "No matter how right it is."

"But, Mimosa..." Asta protested, gesturing to Yuno as an explanation.

"Well..." She relented, heat rushing to her face.

"Typical." Noelle huffed, rolling her eyes.

Mimosa whipped her head towards her cousin, vibrant curls bouncing as she did so, urgency on her features. Noelle smiled at her reaction before pretending to seal her mouth and tossing away the key. The other girl sighed with relief, giving her silent thanks.

"Huh? What're you two doing?" Asta asked, tilting his head in confusion at Noelle and Mimosa's silent conversation.

"None of your business, Dorksta!" Noelle hotly replied.

"Noelle, come on! We're all friends!" He insisted, staring her down in earnest, "Aren't we?"

"It's best just to leave it, Asta." Yuno cut in, as the boy stared at him in shock, "It's not really your business anyways."

Mimosa mouthed her thanks as Asta turned away in defeat, trying not to let his disappointment be too visible. Yuno gave a small nod in response, they were teammates, and that didn't mean much if they couldn't stick together.

"So, what have you been doing this whole time?" Mimosa asked Yuno, eager to move on.

"Keeping watch." Yuno answered, before pausing to think, "And warding off Luck."

"Ah, that makes sense." Noelle shrugged, "He tends to gravitate towards people with a large amount of magic, ones he thinks will give him a challenge."

"I made it pretty clear I wouldn't fight him." Yuno said, "He wasn't much of a problem after that."

"That explains why he seemed so let down." Asta said, tapping his chin, "And why he seemed so set on pissing Magna off."

"To be fair, when is he not?" Noelle sighed, looking down at the ground.

"Oh, but you missed it, Yuno!" Asta suddenly pointed at Yuno, who seemed momentarily shaken by that action.

"Missed what?" Yuno said, still confused about the finger so steadily staring him down.

"Finral and Klaus!" Asta practically shouted as Noelle and Mimosa frantically gestured for him to quiet down.

"What about them?" Yuno uneasily replied.

"They finally told everyone about, y'know..." Asta expectantly looked at Yuno, who continued staring in utter puzzlement.

"What he's saying is that they told everyone they were an item." Noelle finished for him, shooting a dirty look towards Asta.

"Oh?" Was all Yuno could say, unsure of why this information was something Asta so desperately wanted to relay to him.

"Yeah! And it went well, Yami even okayed it!" Asta continued, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Not 'okayed' so much as he decided it wasn't worth making a huge deal about." Noelle corrected, hands resting on her hips, "And that was after threatening Four-Eyes in a weird, roundabout way."

"But that's just Yami's way of giving support!" Asta insisted.

Noelle stared with a blank expression, as if to say she simply couldn't deal with him. Yuno sympathized for her greatly.

"Okay, good for them?" Yuno said, talking to Asta, "But why'd you get so excited?"

"Why wouldn't I? They trusted us, and that's what's important! Friends should trust each other after all." Asta explained, a triumphant look on his face, "I thought you'd want to know, since Klaus is your friend and all."

Yuno fought the immediate urge to protest that statement, and sighed, "Alright. I suppose that makes sense."

"This must mean they're not worried about that tricky law anymore." Mimosa thought out loud, "I wonder what happened?"

"With the fight against Spade, I doubt anyone would care enough about obscure laws to try and punish them. Not to mention, we'd be down two decently strong magic knights." Yuno considered, staring off, "It wouldn't be smart to thin numbers right now. Also it's just a plain stupid reason to do so in the first place."

"While that's true," Mimosa said, nodding along, "Klaus can be rather... careful, " Was the word she chose to use, "about things like that. I don't think he'd truly risk getting on the wrong side of the law."

"I don't know, he seemed close to it once he heard about Asta getting blamed for the reincarnation." Yuno argued, "He's cautious, but if he feels the law is wrong, I think he'd have no problem contesting it."

"Jeez." Asta said, staring at Yuno with wide eyes, "Who knew you could get so fired up outside of battle."

"I don't want to hear that from someone like you." Yuno muttered, turning away from him.

"What? Come on!" Asta loudly replied, raising his fist in protest, "It's a compliment!"

"Not from you, it's not." Yuno scoffed lightheartedly, "Now calm down, you're acting like a child."

"We're the same age, moron!" Asta touted, looking smug, "So shove it!"

"Don't look so proud about posessing common knowledge." Yuno said, falling back into their usual pattern, "It's embarrassing. For you."

"You-" Asta began, before stopping himself and taking a breath, and repeating to himself, "I'm not going to fight at a wedding, I'm not going to fight at a wedding."

"Keep telling yourself that." Yuno teased as Mimosa swatted his shoulder.

"That goes for you as well." Her face screwed tight, "Don't think you can get away with being so rude tonight."

"Right." He slowly agreed, looking wary of her, "I'll be better."

"Good." Mimosa smiled widely, "I'll hold you to that."

"Despite being such an airhead, you're pretty scary sometimes." Noelle commented, leaning close to her, "It's weird."

"Ah? It is?" Mimosa exclaimed, seeming distressed at the statement, "I didn't know that."

"See! There it is again! Acting like you don't have a single neuron firing." Noelle said, poking her shoulder, "You're smarter than that, but you still insist on letting people underestimate you. I just don't get it."

"I don't understand what you mean, Noelle." Mimosa insisted, an earnest tone in her voice, "Pretending just really isn't my style."

Noelle narrowed her eyes, "Liar."

"Noelle..." Mimosa shook her head, "I'm hurt you'd think I'd do such a thing."

Yuno rolled his eyes and they landed making contact with Noelle's, and he tried his best to express his silent agreement with her. He wasn't sure if it worked, because after that she just turned away with a confused look about her. Also turning away, he wondered if his social skills were truly that atrocious. Sure, he'd grown up in a small town with other orphans surrounding him, and was then thrust into isolation with his squad selection, before eventually befriending some of the other members, but still. Questions for later, he promptly decided.

"But Mimosa's too nice to do that!" Asta's voice cut through Yuno's pressing thoughts, as the conversation had apparently continued without him, "I don't know what you're talking about, Noelle!"

"You know what, you're denser than earth, so I don't think you get to weigh in on this!" Noelle harshly criticized, her finger in his face, "And I've known her my whole life, you've known her for what, maybe a year at most?"

"Yeah, but-" Asta protested, as Noelle continued her rant.

"If you say 'But we're friends' I swear I'll-" Stopping herself, she pinched the bridge of her nose as she held a hand up to silence Asta, slowly gathering herself enough to go on, "The point being, that it was just something I wanted to mention, not something I wanted to actually fight about!"

"Oh." Asta stopped, scratching his head as he lowered it, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset."

"Whatever." Noelle sighed, crossing her arms, "I... probably shouldn't have reacted so harshly."

"Thank you." Asta accepted with a smile.

"Are you both done now?" Mimosa asked, sounding terser than usual.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Mimosa." Asta said, scratching the back of his head while looking down, "That was probably rude."

"Probably doesn't even begin to describe it." Yuno finally spoke, trying very hard not to roll his eyes.

Asta, ignoring the jab, bowed his head a bit towards Mimosa, who appeared flustered at the action. She squeaked out a quick statement about it being unnecessary, before swiftly turning away to hide her burning face. Noelle shook her head, cheeks also tinged with a deep crimson color. Yuno could say he'd grown used to this by now, but the truth is, he probably never would. Once he'd understood Mimosa's intense reaction to Asta, he was able to apply that insight to Noelle, and while he was no longer in the dark about their odd behavior, it could get annoying from time to time.

"Okay, now that everyone's calm again," Yuno said, sipping his bitter juice, "how about we have some nice, civil conversation for a change?"

"Agreed." Mimosa said, coughing to hide her face.

"Hey, guys?" Asta muttered, staring off at the center of the room.

"Huh, what is it, Asta?" Noelle asked, looking at him strangely.

"Yeah, you look like you're thinking, which is weird." Yuno commented, waiting for the impending slap on his arm from Mimosa, and was surprised when it never came.

She was absorbed with Asta's strange interruption, studying the boy with a careful intensity.. Noelle glanced over as well, curiosity visibly dancing across her face as she viewed him. Yuno, confused about Asta being quiet for once in his life, finally turned towards him, and stared as the boy had kept his focus to the center of the room.

"It's nothing, but..." Asta said, pointing to where he'd been staring, "I think they're dancing."

"Who?" Noelle asked, as her eyes trailed his outstretched finger.

"Them." He simply answered, shrugging his shoulders.

Yuno, going along with Asta's cryptic words, also looked at the couple he was pointing at. "Oh."

"Really?" Noelle deeply sighed, "You got me all worried just because of those idiots?"

"What?" Asta muttered, turning to face her with an embarassed look on his face, "I just thought it was relevant because of our conversation earlier..."

"It is, don't worry." Mimosa tried to assuage him, to little avail.

He waved her off, "Nevermind, really, it's fine."

"Well, I wouldn't say it was unnecessary." Yuno shrugged, keeping his sight away from Asta, "It's nice to see your friends having fun."

It was true, Yuno thought, as he watched two familiar faces slowly waltz around the dance floor. While he wasn't exactly privy to all the details of Klaus' dating life, and he certainly didn't want to be, he was aware of just how much sneaking around his senior had to do. While his captain had wanted to crack down on such behaviors recently, Yuno really couldn't bring himself to do so. Perhaps he felt it was unfair if he did, or that it simply wasn't something he could do to him and still be called his friend.

Still, if Klaus really felt at ease enough to do things like happily dance with the object of his affection, Yuno could feel happy for him. Even if he still didn't necessarily like Finral, and how could he like someone who decided to wear such a shocking shade of green as a suit? Poor aesthetic choices aside, he wasn't too bad, sometimes. That was all Yuno would give him.

"Awww." Mimosa cooed, "I'm glad they're happy."

Noelle flippantly rolled her neck, "I suppose so. I just can't believe they're so mediocre at dancing."

"I've seen you dance, Noelle, I'm not sure you can judge them." Asta pointed out.

"Shut up, Dorksta!" She fumed, surprised he'd brought such a fact up.

"And I'm not sure you can make fun of Noelle either." Yuno eyed the other boy, "I don't think you could even walk rhythmically."

"It's not like we were taught how to!" Asta countered, crossing his arms, "Anyways, you know just as much about it as me."

"But I can still do it better, so..." Yuno trailed off, smiling.

"You... jerk." Asta shook his head, unable to come up with something different.

"Shortstack." Yuno affectionately rejoined.

"Okay, quit it." Noelle rolled her eyes, "You two are unbelievable."

"Always fighting..." Mimosa sighed, pacing a hand on her heart, "So sad."

"Very funny." Yuno chuckled, as she smiled at the compliment.

"I do try." She shrugged.

"We've noticed." Noelle said, glancing with an exasperated look.

"It's been a while since we've done something like this." Asta said, staring quizically at the floor as his brows furrowed in concentration.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Mimosa asked, turning towards him, concerned.

"It's just... as much as I like training and pushing past my limits, it's hard to get everybody together and have fun without it being related to some sort of disaster." Asta sighed as he started rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't know, it's just something I've noticed."

"Well... actually... I think you're right about that." Mimosa ended up saying, after much deliberation.

"I mean, it's just never really been a priority." Noelle added on, "We're all busy, and we all have to prepare."

"Of course I know that!" Asta replied, frustration briefly rising in his voice, "Still... It's weird that we're all friends, but our best memories of each other are in battle, and not something else."

Yuno took a deep breath, and suggested, "Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we?"

"Huh?" Was the resounding response from the group.

"I just meant to say..." He paused, feeling his will to continue slip, "that maybe that should be another one of our goals, after we successfully defeat Spade, we should try and... do things like this with everyone?"

"Oh, that's..." Mimosa was unsure of what to say beyond that, she hadn't expected something so blatantly sentimental from him, "... that's a wonderful idea."

"Yeah! Way to go, Yuno!" Asta cheered, throwing his arm around the taller boy, and jostling him, "That's a solid plan!"

"It's not an awful idea..." Noelle said, before adding on, "In fact, I bet it'd be almost enjoyable."

"Almost?" Asta parroted, shaking his head, "It'd be a total blast!"

"Speak for yourself." She said, shaking her head.

"Don't be like that, Noelle, you can't tell me you wouldn't at least have a little bit of fun!" Asta insisted, getting closer to her, "Right?"

"Personal space." She reminded, turning away.

"Oh, yeah, yeah." He muttered, scooching away.

"Anyways, it's something to work towards, right?" Mimosa smiled, closing her hands together.

"Yeah, it is." Yuno agreed, letting himself openly smile.

"So that's the plan!" Asta pumped his fist up, "After we kick Spade's ass, we'll all party together, right? And have fun with all of our friends?"

Yuno gently tapped Asta's fist with his own, nodding sharply, "It's a deal."

Mimosa put her own closed hand on top of theirs, before eagerly saying, "I can't wait."

Noelle shook her head, "Honestly... parties are such a waste of time...", and still she put her fist on top of everyone else's, "but... I can't see a good reason not to..."

And with a shared laugh, they broke apart, eager for the future, and excited for every possibility that would await them. For once, it didn't feel like the harsh reality of what they had taken on was pinning them down, they wanted to look beyond that, no matter how naive it seemed. And it was, that was just the truth, but they were kids, who could really blame them? But everyone, no matter if they were preparing to fight or not, was desperately trying to find something to keep themselves going, whether it was an intangible goal, other people, or something completely inane, and they clung to it.

Whether or not it was good in the long run, was something yet to be determined, but it was something to enjoy right then and there. Who doesn't like to live deliciously, joyously, and laugh in the face of overwhelming danger? Or at the very least, find comfort in the people around them, and love so much as to viciously defend it. No matter what was to come, the entire group had collectively decided to protect this small bubble of careful safety with all they had, this was their kingdom after all. Spade would be difficult, yes, but with a resounding sense of commitment, they were positive they would triumph.

**Author's Note:**

> Oof, this was a whole adventure but I think it turned okay. I feel like I might've gone a bit too much into character description but I realized that I had such a clear picture of the OCs in my head but that I pretty much never described them so I might've overcorrected, Idk I just want people to get what I'm trying to convey. The attitude I have towards affection is basically 'absolutely disgusting, give me all you have' so that tells you why I write it the way I do. And while it's not important I greatly enjoyed adding what was basically a magic DJ to the story. It's also just so funny to imagine a kind of medieval setting being introduced to EDM.
> 
> I read a translation of some of the light novels, so there are some references in there. I think the funniest part about them is in the story where Asta interns with the Golden Dawn for the day, and Klaus is being all friendly like and people are like "Oh, he's into guys" and the Golden Dawn is like "Oh ok whatever" it's just amazing to me that this whole group of classist assholes are like "yeah, we may be shitty people who despise the lower class but we're not fucking homophobes that's crossing a line" anyways, that wasn't important but it was so funny to me.


End file.
